Four easy ways to make a little extra cash with your smartphone

Apps That Get You To Save Money2:01

Digit and Acorns make it simple to save money, even without self-control. Personal Tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler explains how these apps siphon off tiny bits of money to help you slowly amass a nest egg.

Four easy ways to make a little extra cash with your smartphone.Source:AFP

WAGES remain largely stagnant and Australians are more indebted than ever so it’s no wonder more of us are looking for a side hustle.

There are a few things you can do with your smartphone if you’re looking to make some extra cash.

TAKING PHOTOS

We’re all taking endless photos with our smartphones anyway and as the cameras on devices like the iPhone X and Google Pixel 2 get increasingly sophisticated, it’s easy to take truly professional grade shots.

And there are plenty of companies and websites out there who buy stock imagery — Flickr, Bigstock, Shutterstock, iStock, Creative Commons and many others offer the chance to put your photos online for potential buyers.

There are also a number of apps that specifically cater to the smartphone crowd looking to sell their pics. Apps like Clashot, Scoopshot, Alamy and EyeEm all promise you the potential to make money taking photos with your phone and “cash in on your creativity”.

BECOME A FIELD AGENT

A company called Field Agent is rather unique in the growing sector of task-oriented crowdsourcing.

Users download the app and choose a simple job which usually involves supplying some piece of “on the ground” information for a company that must be completed within two hours.

A common example of a job is an item price check with a photo. The app will instruct you to go to your local discount store, find a specific product, take a photo of it on the shelf and enter its price.

Jobs typically pay between $2 and $15 each, according to Field Agent. The app is currently available in Australia, the United States, Canada and Norway.

“Once a job has been selected, you will have two hours to complete the task. Be sure you’re near the objective before you start,” the website states.

COMPLETE SURVEYS

Apps like Zap Surveys on iOS and Android give you the chance to get a little extra cash for giving your opinion.

“Companies all over the world need advice … your advice. They need your opinion and we will pay you to share your opinions through fun surveys,” according to the app.

It’s pretty easy to use and has some mostly positive reviews. Once you reach $25 in your account balance, the app allows you to cash out via PayPal or via Amazon eGift Cards. After signing up, the first survey I was offered was worth $6.25 and consisted of eight simple behavioural questions.

WATCHING ADS

You won’t be able to retire early but there are tons of apps on the market that legitimately pay you for viewing ads. If you don’t mind drinking the freshly squeezed juices of capitalism, there are way to get paid for your eyeballs.

Most of these apps earn you points which you can usually exchange for cash or gift cards. It’s odd, but apps like AppNana and AdFun might be worth looking into.

One user wrote on reddit last year about AppNana: “It took me 6 months, on and off going on the app to get $2.5 AUD, that’s Australian money. It’s legit but takes way too much time.”